Sins of the Past
by Evidence
Summary: A case leads Jack and Samantha to a toxic situation that they may not live through.
1. Default Chapter

Title: Sins of the Past

Author: Evidence

Chapter: 1

Rating: PG-13

Author's Notes: Major thanks to D for all the help!  This story switches from the present to the recent past.  Hope you enjoy.

It wasn't supposed to end like this.  To die in the line of duty was suppose to be honorable.  This was something people would shake their heads about.  What a surreal way to go.  

Jack reached for her, grabbing her hand.  He pulled her into an embrace and she put her head on his shoulder.  He held her and she held him as they took their final breaths.

Four days earlier…

Jack had stopped in front of the television set turned on in the FBI's audio/video room.  Samantha nearly bumped into him with his abrupt halt.  

A young reporter stood outside a beautiful, large home.  "Today is the thirtieth anniversary of the kidnapping of Michael Forfa.  You might recall that is the case that haunted Connecticut.  A nine-month-old baby vanished form his stroller as his parents walked along the little shops in Mystic, Connecticut.  His parents turned away from him for one second and in the next he was gone."  Flashes of the area and old videotape played as the reporter talked over the clips.  "His parents John and Ellen Forfa have spent the last thirty years desperately searching for their son.  And today on the anniversary of his kidnapping they may have been provided with the answer to this mystery."

Jack and Sam exchanged looks.

The reporter continued, "The Forfa's report that they have received a letter from a woman dying of liver disease who claims that she stole their son and raised him as her own.  The authorities are not giving us her name or any other information at this time.  I spoke with the Forfas a few minutes ago and this is what they had to say."

The picture changed to an early sixties year old couple sitting on a flowered couch.  The woman's hair was completely white and her face looked much older than her current age.  Her husband had wisps of gray mixed with black and turned his attention away from the video camera.  Mrs. Forfa spoke, "This is it.  We have finally found Michael after all these years.  We have our son back."  Her eyes glistened with tears. 

The scene turned back to the reporter and Jack shut the television off.

"I remember that case," he said looking at Samantha.

"You couldn't have been working it- you're not that old."  She grinned.

"No, I remember just hearing about it.  How people went into a panic, not wanting to go anywhere with their kids."  

"Do you think they really found him?'

Jack shrugged.  "Who knows?  That's for the Connecticut authorities to determine."

He no sooner said that when his cell went off.  Sighing he answered, "Hello.  Yes, this is Malone.  Ah, huh, okay.  Of course.  Let me write down the address."

Sam handed him a pad and a pencil lying on the A/V counter.

"Okay, yes, I got it.  I'll be glad to help out.  Talk to you soon."  He replaced the cell in his belt clip.

"Who was that?"

"Agent Harland Jenkins of Connecticut, he wants us to check out the Forfa case."

Sam looked bewildered.  "He wants us to come to Connecticut?"

"No.  Right here in town.  It seems that the woman who is claiming she took Michael Forfa has said that Michael lives in Queens."

"So we are going to check out the claims."

Jack nodded.  "Exactly.  Get a DNA sample and go from there.  Wanna come?"  He smiled at her softly.

"Sure."  She said looking at him.  His eyes met hers and held for a moment.  

"Well we better get going."  He started off with her following.

The house was small, a grayish color with blue trim.  There was a separate one-car garage and a small backyard.  Jack and Sam knocked on the front door.

"I like that color on you," Jack suddenly said.

"Oh, the turtleneck?"

"Yeah…what is it a blue-ish/green?"

"Aqua, it is called."  She smiled at him.  

The door opened to reveal a man with black short hair and a bulky build.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"James Kingsley?"  Jack asked.

"Yes," he said looking back and forth at them.

They produced their badges in sync.  "Special Agent Jack Malone and this is Special Agent Samantha Spade.  We are with the FBI's Missing Persons Unit.  May we come in?"

"Um…okay," he extended the door opening, giving Sam the once over.

"Hey," Jack started but Samantha put her hand on his arm.  He looked at her and she shook her head.  Let it go, she was telling him.

Kingsley led them to the living room right off the foyer.  "Sam Spade, huh? So are you a famous detective?"  He smiled brightly at her.

"No," was her only reply.

Jack seethed but tried to steel himself from the man and his obvious attraction to Samantha. "Mr. Kingsley, your mother is Donna Kingsley, correct?"

"Yes…"

"Well, your mother has told the police that she did something years ago…something that effects you."  Jack paused.  "Mr. Kingsley, your mother claims she kidnapped you."

"That's insane!"  He jumped up from his seat in a recliner.

"Mr. Kingsley, please have a seat."  Jack instructed.

Still infuriated, the man did as he was told. 

"Your mother says you're Michael Forfa."  Jack looked at him.

"Who the hell is Michael Forfa?"

Jack explained the news report, the kidnapping, and the recent turn of events that created the visit.

"It's wrong.  My mother is heavily medicated.  She is dying of liver disease in a Hartford hospital.  She doesn't know what she is saying."

"Well, if you give us a DNA sample than we can prove that either your mother is mistaken or you are Michael Forfa."  Sam interjected.

"We have a sample of Michael Forfa's hair, dark hair like your own.  If we can compare the two…"  Jack started.

"No, get out of my house!"

"Mr. Kingsley, I know this must be upsetting but reporters will find you soon enough; they will be all over this house, this neighborhood.  This will not end just because you want it to."

Kingsley stared at her, a look that sent chills up her spine.

"Hey, stop it!" Jack yelled, not pleased at all with his man.  "DNA sample, now!"

"I'll get you my brush."  He left them on the couch.

"The little creep."  Jack shook his head.

 Sam grimaced.  "He is weird."

"Glad you're not interested."

"No, I only like charming, intelligent men."

Jack laughed.

"Why is that funny?"

"I have seen some of your dates.  Charming and intelligent are not the words that come to mind."

"Maybe I'm thinking of only one man then."  She said it almost quietly.

He looked at her, wishing that they could be together.  "Maybe."

Kingsley returned with a black brush.  He handed it to Sam.  "My hair for you," a glint of something appeared in his eyes.

Sam put the brush into a sealed envelope.

"We'll be back in a few days with the results Mr. Kingsley."  Jack stood.

"If she wants to stay and help me through this crisis…."

"Cut the shit!" Jack yelled at him, incensed.  "Listen you little gnat, you don't treat her that way, got it?"

Kingsley grinned.  "Sure.  So he's the one who keeps you warm at night." He looked at Sam.

"You…" Jack started reaching for him but Samantha grabbed his arm.  "Let's go.  We got what we came here for."

They left on the note.  Jack still fumed as he drove erratically.  "I could have punched him till he couldn't get up again.  That little weasel."   

"It's not your job to protect me."  Somewhere inside anger loomed for Sam.  "You have a wife and kids to watch out for her."

He gripped his hands on the steering wheel.  "Sam…I need to make this work with them.  It doesn't mean…it doesn't mean I don't care."

She looked at the passing small house landscape.  "I know.  Just sometimes…I guess I wonder."

"If I was free what our lives would be together?"  It came so quickly out of his month as if it was a thought always embedded in this mind.

"Yes," she answered softly seeing an image of Jack and her on a porch swing reading the Sunday edition of the paper.  

"It's a nice dream," he replied turning the car down another street.

They rode in silence the rest of the way back.

The present…

Now she held on to him, tears running down her face.  Having one thought that was positive: at least they would die together.  In the end they would end up together.

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Sins of the Past Chapter: 2 Author: Evidence 

Rating: PG-13

Author's Notes: Thanks to D for all the help!  This takes place a few months after the events of FO.

Three days ago…

"Jack, I got something you'll want to see."  Danny ran up to him just as he was getting off the elevator.

"What is it?"

Handing over a manila folder, Danny sighed.  "The life and times of James Kingsley.  Page four is of great interest."

Jack opened the file, walking and scanning the contents.  On page four, as Danny predicted, his interest peaked.  

"Mr. Kingsley has an arrest record.  Assault and battery on his girlfriend."  

"Yes.  Read on," Danny instructed.

Jack's eyes glazed over the black print until one word made his eyes shoot up to look at Danny: breakdown.

"He's had a breakdown?"

"A nervous breakdown three years ago.  Tried to kill himself at Times Square by jumping in front of a taxi.  Luckily the taxi was going slow and he was barely injured.  Kingsley spent 6 months in the nuthouse."  Danny folded his arms.  "If he is Michael Forfa…"

"What will the information do to an unstable man?"  Jack shook his head.  "Danny, go over to Kingsley's with Martin.  Don't approach him but watch to see who visits him, when he leaves for work…those things."

"Sure, but he doesn't work."

"Laided off?"

"No, he was fired.  Had a physical altercation with another employee and was tossed off the job.  He was a construction worker."

"Okay, still go over and see what's happening there.  We have to be careful with this one."  Jack looked over at Samantha who was chatting on the phone.  She had on a huge smile and was laughing slightly.  "Thanks, Danny."

"No problem."  Danny walked away, Jack hearing him call Martin.

He approached her desk, making his presence known.  She looked up at him and then went back to her conversation.  He cleared his throat, she continued to talk.

He felt his chest tighten.  "Sam, I need to see you in my office now."  He strode off to it, sitting down at his desk, littered with paperwork.  Jack fixed the newest picture of Hanna and Kate, ice-skating at Rockefeller Center.  Their checks were red and they smiled brightly but he knew the sadness he had brought to their lives.  He would never forgive himself for hurting them.

He looked at his watch.  Sam still wasn't there yet.  Getting up he looked into the office area.  A deliveryman decked out in blue was having her sign for a bouquet of beautiful flowers.   Jack sucked in his breath.  He went back to his desk, fighting the tears that were beginning to form.

She came in with a look of fury on her face.  "What was that about?  You can't just order me off the phone!"

"This is a place of work, one cannot sit and have personal conversations while people are out there waiting for us to find them."  His voice rose in anger.

"Fine.  I'll make any personal phone calls at home but next time don't order me in here like some lackey."

She turned to go but his voice stopped her.  "Nice flowers."

She shook her head.  "So that's what this is about.  You're not upset because I called someone from work, you're upset at the thought of who I called and who I received the flowers from."

Jack said nothing.

"I'm not yours, you have no right to get mad at me for what I do on my free time.  You have a wife, remember?"

Samantha walked out leaving him with his thoughts.  He rubbed at his forehead feeling a headache coming on to match his heartache.  Months had past since Barry Mashburn had held Samantha hostage, since Jack had returned home living some quasi-sort of life.  She was his, no matter.  He never could replace what she was to him.  But she had already replaced him with someone new.  Maybe he hadn't meant as much to her as he had hoped.  Maybe she hadn't changed with him.  

He gazed again at the picture of the girls ice-skating, he could imagine Samantha with them, laughing and smiling.  A dream that would not come true.

The present…

He felt her hair against his chin.  Her wet tears on his shirt.  He wouldn't let her die this way.  He had to do something.  

Three days earlier in the afternoon…

Vivian saw her blowing clouds of cold breath, leaning against the brick building.  "Hey, Sam.  A little cold for fresh air isn't it?"

"I needed to get out of there."

"Okay, what's the matter?"  Vivian leaned on the wall echoing her movements.

"Jack and I had a fight.  I was on the phone with Ben and then he sent me flowers."

"Oh."  Vivian said.  Ben Upton did not appeal to her in the least.  He had that air of a know-it-all who thought he was more important than the lowly FBI agent.  Some thought Upton was good looking and charming but Vivian found his pointed eyes and greased hair to be unattractive and his high-class attitude was not appealing.  Sam always went for the guys who were polar opposites of the man she truly loved, Vivian thought.

"How am I supposed to work with Jack under these conditions?"

"I don't know Samantha but you got to give it a try."

"I rather go somewhere else."

"Running away would be easy.  The harder thing is to stay."  Vivian gave her a look.

Sam pulled her black coat tighter.  "I don't know if I'm strong enough."

"You are, have faith in your self."  Vivian patted her shoulder.

"I miss him so much," Sam's eyes swelled with water and her voice grew tight.  "I feel like I haven't really been living for so long.  Just going through the motions.  Not feeling anything."

"I thought that was the way you liked to live your life?"

"Not lately.  Not since…"

"You fell in love with Jack," Vivian finished for her.

Samantha felt herself finally embracing the truth after all this time.  "Yeah."

Vivian wrapped her arms around her.  "It will all work out, Sam.  I know it will."

"Is everything okay?"  Jack's voice filled the air.

"Fine," Sam said, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

"Hey, Jack," Vivian said looking more at the ground than him.

"I need to go to an interview of Kingsley's former girlfriend who filled charges for abuse."  He paused.  "Sam, want to come with me?"

Vivian moved her eyes from one of her friends to the other.

"Ah…"  How could she resist the chance to be with him?  "Sure."

He smiled slightly.  "Viv, Jenkins from Connecticut will be calling.  Will you take that phone call please?"

"Of course."  She watched as they both walked away together.  

The present…

"I love you," he whispered into her ear.

She looked up at him all the sudden understanding what he was about to do.

"No," she said quietly.

"I have to try.  I can't watch you die."  He began to let go of her and put his plan into action.

"Jack, no." She cried knowing the ending before it happened.

To be continued… 


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Sins of the Past

Chapter: 3

Author: Evidence

Rating: PG-13

Author's Notes: Thanks to D for everything, to Maple Street the best group of people around and Hank for creating these wonderful characters.

Three days earlier…the afternoon…

The car ride was filled with silence; neither Jack nor Samantha wanting to contribute any words of conversation.  James Kingsley's ex-girlfriend lived in a small loft apartment in lower Manhattan.  They walked up three flights of stairs before Sam asked Jack to stop.

"What's the matter?"  He instinctively put his hand on her shoulder.

"A few too many stairs for my leg."  Her eyes left his wanting instead to look at un-painted walls it appeared.

"It's still tender even after all these months?"

"Pain is hard to erase.  It never truly goes away…once you have been hurt," Sam said breathing in quickly.

Jack released her shoulder.  "I…I understand."

"Do you?"

He nodded.  "It's painful for me too."

"Sometimes I wonder."  She composed herself and started back up the steps.  

Three quick knocks on the door.

"Yes," a woman pulled back the door, the chain in place, some sort of false protection.

"Miss Rebecca Shaw?"  She nodded at Jack's question.  "I'm Special Agent Malone and this is Special Agent Spade, we would like to ask you a few questions about your ex, James Kingsley."

She closed the door, undoing the chain, and let the two agents in.

They took seats on her plaid loveseat, their knees slightly touching.

"What do you want to know?"  Rebecca asked.

"You filed charges against Mr. Kingsley four years ago.  You called 911 after an altercation at your former place of resident?"  

"I wouldn't call it an altercation, Mr. Malone.  He bashed my face into my kitchen counter."  She held her index finger to a scared region on her left side.  "I have the scars to prove it."

"Was he ever abusive before?"  Sam asked.

Rebecca sighed.  "He never did that, just when he didn't get his own way he would throw things.  But I only got hurt if I ended up being in the way."  She pushed her brown hair behind her ear.  "He just went berserk that day."

"What happened to make him go berserk?"  Jack asked scribbling notes in a small, black, pad.

"His mom told him his father didn't die, that he just walked out on them.  Jimmy just lost it."

"He thought his father was dead?" Sam moved closer.

"Yes.  Donald Kingsley was suppose to have died in a car accident when Jimmy was 10 months old…but his mom made that up."

Among other things, Jack thought.  He asked out loud, "Why did his mom tell him after all that time?  Any idea."

Rebecca shrugged.  "She's a strange woman.  All I know is Jimmy came here and beat…" She paused.  "…and did this to me."

"You dropped the charges right before the trial.  Why?"  Jack asked.

Rebecca bit at her index finger, tears forming.

"Rebecca, tell us," Samantha gently persuaded her.

"I'm an artist.  I sell oil paintings, I do well enough to make a decent living.  Right before the trial Jimmy showed up at one of my exhibits.  He told me that if I continued with the suit he would come to my apartment at night and sit me on fire."

Jack and Sam exchanged shocked glances.

"He still had my key so…"  Her breath came in gulps.  Sam rushed to grab her a glass a water.  She took a sip.  "Thanks.  So I dropped the charges and moved here.  My brother lives in the next apartment so it's semi-protection."

"Has he bothered you since?"  Jack asked.

"Thank God no. I never want to see him again."

"We got ourselves a very unstable young man."  Jack put his hands into his coat's pockets as they walked to the car.

"If he is Michael Forfa, I don't think his parents will want to know who he is."

"His parents will want to know him even if he's a nut."

Sam shook her head.  "I disagree."

"You don't know, you're not a parent.  I would do anything for my kids."

"Even stay in an unhappy marriage, huh?"  The minute it came out Sam couldn't believe she had said it.  

Jack stared at her.  

"I'm sorry, Jack.  I don't where that came from."

"I love you, too."  He said it so quietly she nearly missed it.

"What?"

"I love you, too."  He repeated.

"Too?"  Her heart was beating out of her chest.

"I think you just told me you loved me."

"I said..."

"You said what was in your heart."

She felt warm instead of cold, longing to grab him and hold on to him.  "Maybe I did."

"Sam…if only…"

"You weren't married," She completed for him.  

"Yeah."

They stood in silence for a minute. "I do love you, Jack."  She said those words that she never thought she would say and mean.

"We probably should get back to the office."

She nodded her head and took her seat in the car.  Jack turned on the radio so they wouldn't have to talk. One love song after another played as they made it back to their office building.

The present…

They were struggling.  Sam could only stand frozen and stare.  She heard the gun go off and before knowing the outcome screamed, "No!"

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Sins of the Past

Chapter: 4

Author: Evidence

Rating; PG-13

Author's Notes:  Thanks to D for all the help!! You rock.  E you wanted this so…here you go.

The present…

"Did you hear that?"  Danny yelled, drawing his gun and jumping out of the passenger door even before Martin stopped the car.

"We need backup at 290 Fremont Street.  A gun has been fired," Martin spoke into the walkie-talkie placed on the dashboard.  His eyes saw the smoke and Danny running up to the front to get in. 

He got out of the car and followed Danny's path and then…a sound filled his ears that stopped him in his path.

Two days earlier…

"Yes, thank you Harland."  Jack hung up the phone and looked at the yellow post it on his desk.  "Your wife called" the note said but since being at work for the last two hours he hadn't even attempted to return the phone call.  He had called Hanna and Kate's school so he knew they were fine.  He was only trying to avoid Maria.

His troops were gathered at the conference table waiting to hear what Agent Harland Jenkins of Connecticut had discovered.  

"Morning," he said to them.  "Harland has talked with Kingsley's mother.  She still is holding fast to her claim that she stole him from the Forfa's.  Harland found her to be quite accurate in her information.  She described Michael's outfit to a tee on the day of the kidnapping."

"She even included those details that weren't released to the media?"  Vivian asked.

"Yes.  Harland truly believes that this woman did kidnap Michael Forfa."

Samantha pushed back her hair with her hand.  "Did she give any explanation for her actions?"

He looked directly at her as he spoke.  "She had been pregnant.  Her boyfriend had left when he found out and then the baby was born three months early and stillborn."

Danny shook his head.  "One tragedy creates another."

"Yes.  Harland believes she had a break from reality that caused her to think stealing Michael was something she had to do.  She had been visiting friends in Mystic when she saw the Forfa's with the baby.  They turned to look at a building and she just walked up and grabbed the child."

"Didn't her friends realize that suddenly she had a kid?"  Sam's voice rose in astonishment.

"She never went back there.  Drove until she got home in Springfield, Massachusetts.  From there she packed up all her possessions and moved to Queens finding herself a small apartment.  Ironically her illness brought her back to the scene of the crime."  

"She never spoke to her parents again?"  Martin asked.

"She spoke to them but only phone conversations.  She wouldn't visit."

"No of course not she had a secret they couldn't know about."  Sam was tapping at the table with her fingers.  

Jack nodded.  "So that brings us to here.  Harland is speaking with the Forfa's today.  I want us to learn as much as we can about Mr. Kingsley.  Danny: cover the paper trial.  Viv: find his old high school and speak to his teachers.  Martin: head over to the construction site where he got fired from."

They broke their tight circle, leaving Samantha the only one sitting still at the table.  "Um, what am I suppose to do?"

"Come with me please."  

She looked at him unsure of what was written on his face.  In a moment though she had put on her coat and headed to the elevators with him.

"Two with the works please."  He paid the man and handed Sam her hot dog.

"I can't believe he's still outside and working in this cold."

Jack shrugged.  "People still want to eat hot dogs even if it's only a few notches above freezing."  He motioned to tree encased with snow around the base.  "Have a seat."

"There?"

"Your coat is long enough, you won't get wet."

She took a sit in the snow wondering what this was all about.  They should be out investigating, not eating hotdogs in the middle of winter under a tree covered in snow.  It was so ludicrous.

They eat silently for a few minutes letting the warmth of the dog increase their body temperatures.  

Jack smiled at her.

"What?"

"You have relish on your chin," he laughed.

She wiped it up, looking at him.  "Why are we here?"

"I had something I wanted to tell you."  He paused breathing deeply and looking at her.  "I left Maria last night."

She nearly let go of the remaining hot dog.  His words were such a shock.  "You…left her."

"Yes.  I told her I couldn't go on like this.  Trying to love her when I don't.  Sitting at the breakfast table in the morning trying to be invisible.  Not wanting to go home at the end of the day.  Thinking of excuses so that I don't have to be in bed with her.  I can't do it anymore.  I won't do it anymore."

"Are you leaving her for me?"  Her heart was beating wildly as if in a minute it would explode.

"No.  I'm leaving her for myself.  I'm doing it because I need to get out of this unhappy relationship.  And if I can be with you in the process than that just makes everything better."  He smiled at her still nervous about this confession and how she would take it.

"What made you decide to leave now?"  She had dropped the hot dog now, her hands shaking so badly.  In her head she heard: run, run, this is too much.  But her heart was having spasms of love.

"I listened to Rebecca Shaw talking about Jimmy and now she fears him.  She was in an abusive situation where she felt she had no power.  The situations are not the same but I understood how Rebecca felt.  I live in fear, trying to please her, to keep my marriage, to keep my kids.  I let myself lose any power I had because of the guilt I had for having the affair with you."

Sam's eyes darted down to the ground.

"I was not living just like Rebecca when she was with Jimmy.  So I left the situation."

"Where are you staying?"

"A Holiday Inn for now."

She found herself fumbling for words. "Are…did…do your kids know?"

"Yes.  They were crying last night."  He wiped a tear from his own face.

"Do you think you can go through with this?"

"I have to.  I'm not living Sam."

Silence filled the tensioned air.  Jack reached out and grabbed her hand in his own.  "If you want us to, we can be together.'

Her head was full of thoughts: he would probably move in since he was staying at a motel, they would be living together, that would be a huge step.

"Sam, what are you thinking?"  His eyes tried to read her emotions.

She would be like a step mom, taking the kids places, talking with them.

He squeezed her hand, growing nervous.  "Sam?"

After his divorce he would probably propose marriage: white gown, big wedding.  And then he would want more kids.  

"Samantha? What's the matter?"

It was too much too soon.  She wasn't ready for this.

"Sam? Talk to me."

"I can't do this Jack.  I can't be with you."

He had been afraid of this.  "You love me."

"I can't do this…I…"

"Please, don't say anything rash.  Let's just enjoy the rest of our time here."  Jack held his breathe.

"Look who's giving the orders now."  She got up.  He was still holding her hand.  "Let go."

Tears brimmed at his eyes.  "Please don't runaway from this, from us."

"Let go."

He did as instructed and watched her hail a cab and take off.

He covered his face with his hands.  It was never easy between them.

"You're here."  The driver said. 

She handed him his money and got out.  A light was on upstairs, he was home.  She pushed the buzzer. It took what seemed forever for him to come to the door.

"Hey," he said opening it up, a smile on his lips.  "I wasn't expecting you."

"Hi, Ben."

He sat in his office the rest of the morning.  The idea of a hot dog so early in the day had been foolish- his insides were tossing and turning.  Or maybe that was because Sam had not returned to the office.  He knew where she was, what she was doing.  Ben Upton was one lucky bastard.  He didn't regret leaving.  As he had told her, he had done it for himself.  It was what he needed to do.

Vivian came in telling him about her interview with Kingsley's former guidance consoler.

"So James was unstable back then but his mom wouldn't listen."  She paused.  "You okay?"

"I left Maria last night."

Vivian nodded her head.  "I'm glad you finally made a decision."

"I'll tell Maria you approve."

"I don't know if I approve, I just want you to be happy.  The last few months you haven't been happy."

"I wonder sometimes if I'll ever be happy."

She touched his hand.  "I see it in your future."

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

Samantha Spade stood there, coat still on.

"Ah, Viv…"

"I'm gone."  She left without a further word to either of them.

"Hey," Sam started.

"Don't act like nothings happened."

"I just…"

"I know where you were."

"Did you have me followed?"

"No, I know you."  He grabbed some papers off the desk just to have something to do so he wouldn't have to look at her.

"Jack, I need to tell you something."

"And what's that?"

"I'm scared."

His eyes left the papers and glazed up at her.

"I've never been in love…not until I met you.  I didn't know it would be so… consuming.  When you said you had left Maria, I panicked.  It was too much, too soon.  I'm sorry."

"What about Ben?" His mouth was dry.

"He's not you."

"Did you…" Never mind, he didn't want to know.

"I went to his place to…well to be with him, to get you off my brain but I ended up breaking up with him.  I'm tired of settling for second best."

"Sam, I don't know what to say." He wanted to ask what it meant for them.

"Don't say anything," she crossed the room, planting a kiss on his lips in full view of anyone walking by.  "I just need time, Jack.  Please give me time to be ready for this."

He pushed back her hair.  "I'll give you all the time you need."  He smiled.  "I don't think I've been happier."

She kissed him again.  "I better get out of here.  Enough of a show today for the office."

Before she left he called out to her.  "Sam?'

She turned and looked at him.  "Talk with a therapist."

She gave him a strange look. 

"About Mr. Kingsley.  See about his emotion state and how we should approach him."

She smiled.  "Done."

He watched her leave.  He would give her all the time she needed, she was worth wanting for.

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Sins of the Past

Chapter: 5

Author: Evidence

Rating: PG-13

Author's Notes: Thanks to D for cheerleadering this along and all the positive encouragement from the wonderful Maple Street gang.

One day earlier...

Jack hung up the phone, sighing.  He proceeded out to the office area where his eyes first caught Sam's.  She smiled at him and took a place at the conference table next to Vivian.

"That was Harland.  Kingsley's mother took a turn for the worse last night.  She died early this morning."

"No justice for the Forfa's, huh?" Danny shook his head.  "She'll never pay for her crime."

"This will be hard for Kingsley- it is the only mother he has known," Vivian interjected.

"He's already unstable, could this send him over the edge?" Samantha wondered out loud.

"We need to be very careful with James Kingsley, he's a time bomb waiting to go off.  If we don't approach him just the right away..." Jack began.

"Boom," Samantha finished the statement.

"Yes," He smiled at her, not being able to help himself.  "Kingsley is on his way to Connecticut to set the funeral in motion.  He'll be back tomorrow, same day the DNA results should be in."

"So the lies all end tomorrow," Martin said not realizing the double meaning of his words for Jack and Samantha.  

"Yes, that's right," Jack answered.

Jack was planning to tell his daughters the next day about Sam and the place she would hold in his life, once she was ready to take that step.  He was filled with fear that they would dismiss him and want him to leave their lives like he had their mother. He couldn't let Sam go again and he felt he would eventually win back his children's trust.

"Today let's just get all of this paperwork set so we have a concrete file on this case.  Van Doran has been on my back about how unorganized some of us can be."  All the heads turned to look at him.  "Okay, I'm the biggest offender but...one of the privileges of being the boss."

Vivian, Martin and Danny returned their desks to type, sort and set up the Forfa/Kingsley file.  Jack had glanced back at Sam.  "I could use your assistance with some papers in my office; they are truly a mess."

"Sure...boss."  She said with a large grin.

She followed him to the glass encased office, the room of so many memories both good and bad.  Once the door had closed she asked him, "Why did you really want me to come in?"

"Not what you're thinking."

"Darn," she said with a laugh.

"I needed to talk to you out of earshot of the others."  He took a seat on the sofa in his office, Sam joining him.  "I am taking the girls out to dinner tomorrow and I am going to tell them about you.  I would like it if you would join us."  He fumbled with his fingers on his lap, suddenly unsure if this was the right decision.  

"Jack, I'm not ready to play mother to them."  She said it quietly.

"I don't want to lie to my kids.  I want them to know how my life is going to change...if you still want to be in it."

"I just need time."

"I know," he nodded his head, "It was just an idea I had.  Too soon, I realize that now." He looked down at his ring finger where the band use to be.

Sam placed her hand on top of his.  "I want to be with you, Jack but if we want it to last I need time to adjust.  This is all new for me.  Being...being in love."  

He smiled.  "I think it's new for me too.  Love this...deep."  He reached out his hand and put it to her cheek.  "This is all going to work out because it is right.  We are the right thing.  Not the wrong.  I should have never been married to Maria so long after our relationship became two strangers living in the same house."

She stared into his brown eyes.  "What time?"

"What?"

"What time for dinner tomorrow.  I'll be there."  She smiled nervously.

He returned the favor.  "7 at LePointe."

"Oh, the French restaurant. Fancy."

"Are you sure you want to come?"  He asked tentatively.

"I have to stop being afraid that something wonderful is going to go away.  I have already had it happen."

Jack looked at her questionably.

"You went back to Maria after the Mashburn incident."  A few errant tears rolled down her face.

"I'm so sorry." He wiped them away with his hand.

"Can we ever fully trust each other, Jack? You'll always be worried that I'll get scared and run.  And I'll wonder if you'll leave me for Maria."  She turned away from him.

He whispered in her ear.  "Trust our love for that has never been shaken.  We have always loved each other from the moment this became something more than a fling."  With that he kissed her neck sweetly.

The present...

"Run!" he was yelling at her but she was on her knees, everything becoming foggy.

Light burst in, followed by the sound of voices.  Voices she recognized but couldn't place.  And then everything, everything went black.

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Sins of the Past Chapter: 6 Author: Evidence 

Rating: PG-13

Author's Notes: Well this is the end.  Thank you so much for all the nice reviews.  Thanks again to D and Maple Street.

A few hours before…

"Are you ready for tonight?"  Jack hung Sam's coat on the black coat rack outside the conference room.

"I think so.  I'm a little nervous."  Samantha smiled slightly.

"You are going to do just fine.  I know it."

"Jack, what if the girls hate me…where does that leave us?'

He shifted his feet and paused before answering.  "We will still be together, I just will have to work harder to let the girls know that I love them even though they don't want to accept a part of my new life."

Samantha knew this would be heartbreaking for him if Hanna and Kate did not welcome her; Jack would constantly be torn.  And she felt she knew who would win the battle for his heart; his children were everything to him.

"Let's see what is happening with the Forfa/Kingsley case."  Jack smiled at her but she could sense the worry in his voice.  This night was so important.

The Present…

"Sam! Sam! Wake up," he shook her body, tears starting to form, "No, no don't you leave me, don't do this.  Fight, Sam, fight."

One hour before…

He had been sitting in his office, thinking.  Worrying actually.  He had taken a giant leap and now there was no turning back.  He wasn't just concerned about his children accepting Sam; he was worried about being this much in love.  Of being willing to give your life freely for another, of needing to see someone everyday or you feel like youcan't breath, of putting all your trust in another. He wasn't use to this kind of love and as it scared Sam, it also frightened him.

"Jack! Results are in!"  Danny stood in the doorway bringing Jack back to reality.

"The DNA results?"

"Yup, James Kingsley is Michael Forfa."

Jack removed his glasses.  "Okay, I'll head over there to tell him the news, Martin and you can have a conference call with Harland Jenkins from Connecticut.  Viv is out sick but you'll like Harland."

"Jack, do you think that's such a good idea.  I mean to go to Kingsley's alone?"  Danny walked closer to the desk, concern in his brown eyes.

"I won't be alone, Sam will come."

"Maybe Martin and I should tag alone for extra protection."

"I need you here."

"Yeah but Kingsley is unstable and when he learns this…"

"I appreciate what you are saying but I have handled worse than Kingsley."  Jack smiled to let Danny know he wasn't mad.  "Thank you," he added.

"You're the boss, you know where to find us."

"Could you send Sam in please?"

"Sure."

Samantha Spade entered a few seconds later.  "The Forfa's got a nut on their hands."

"That they do.  Would you come with me to break the news to him?"

"Of course."

They both smiled beginning finally to feel free to be together.

The present…

"I need an ambulance…"  Martin spoke into his walkie-talkie.

Half an hour earlier…

Knock, knock.  Jack's fist rapped at the door.

James Kingsley answered.  His black hair looked like it hadn't been combed and he now had a newly formed beard.  He wore a plaid shirt and a pair of old looking jeans. "What do you want?"

"We are so sorry to hear about your mother," Jack started, "We have news for you on the DNA results."

The door slammed in their faces.

"Well this is going to be fun," Sam said with a roll of her eyes.

Jack could hear noise in the back of house so it traveled up to the front.  James Kingsley had gone out the back door and was heading for his stand-alone garage.

"Come on," Jack said briskly walking over to the man.  "Mr. Kingsley, we need to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you."  Using an automatic door opener the garage crept open.

"Look we know this is upsetting but we have a job to do," Jack continued.

"Your job," he laughed, "What a job."  He entered into the garage, Jack and Sam following.

"If we could just sit down…" Sam started.

"I don't feel like it, okay?" Kingsley's face turned red.

Jack went for broke as Kinsley sat in the driver's seat and started the engine.  "James, listen.  The DNA results are in.  You are Michael Forfa.  Donna Kingsley stole you from the Forfa family."

The car was till running but Kingsley didn't drive off.  "That can't be."

"I'm sorry Mr. Kingsley but the DNA shows that it is." Jack looked at Sam.

Kingsley got out of the car holding the automatic door opener in his hand.  He locked the car behind him. He pushed the door opener button. Light was lost as shadows took shape as the door began to close.

"What the hell…" Jack started.

"Mr. Kingsley!" Sam yelled after him as he walked to the back of the garage.  He didn't stop.  A toolbox was heard clinking open.

Kingsley turned around a small revolver in his hand.  "I'm afraid we are all going to die today."

Samantha felt her stomach twist.  The car was running, carbon dioxide was filling a small-enclosed space.  The only way out was to press the automatic door holder, which was in the hands of one insane man who was also holding gun.  If she were a gambler, she would say her odds weren't good.

"Mr. Kingsley, let's set down and talk about this," Jack began trying to reassure the man, "there are wonderful people who can help you sort out this mess."

"What? Head Shrinkers?  I don't think so.  Michael Forfa is dead and so will be James Kingsley.  You two are just in the way."

"If that is all we are, why don't you let us go?" Sam asked.

"No," Kingsley's voice was low.  "You have to die."

Sam looked at Jack and he at her. They were going to die, die together, in a surreal like death.  

Like a fast moving picture the next few moments sped through Sam's mind.  They were holding each other, Jack was saying he loved her, he lunged for Kingsley, a battle for the gun ensued.  The gun went off, a shot that luckily hit only a rake positioned in the corner.  Sam could only watch in horror.  The poisoned air was filling her lungs.  She dropped to her knees…a killer that she couldn't see or taste.  Jack had got the gun away from Kingsley, and Kingsley had hit his head on the car, passing out.  Jack had yelled for her to run, but everything had grown black.

The present…

"Are you sure about this?"

"Jack, the doctors said I was fine.  I just passed out due to stress not the carbon dioxide."

"Having a gun on you is stressful," he smiled slightly.

"Especially when you think the one you love is about to be killed," she touched his cheek as he turned a corner.

"I can reschedule."

"No, I want to eat with your girls tonight."

"James Kingsley is back on the pysch ward as we speak.  The Forfa's took the news hard, Harland said."  Jack adjusted the rearview mirror.

"Those poor people.  They found their son only to lose him."

"Whether it was in him or became a monster later on, Michael Forfa did die that day.  Their child will never be returned to them."  His voice cracked.

"Sometimes I wonder why I do this job."

"For the chance to have miracles happen like the Collins experienced."  Jack pulled up in front of his old house.

"Are you ready?" he sighed.

"Are you?" she grinned back.

The door opened and Hanna and Kate Malone came strolling out.  Hanna wore a red car coat with matching gloves while Kate was ready for the cold with a blue parka and winter hat.  They were both slightly subdued.  Jack jumped out of the car saying hello to Maria who was in the doorway and ushering the kids into the backseat.  Sam's heart was beating fast.  

Jack smiled at Sam as he got back into the driver's seat.  "Hanna, Kate, this is Samantha."

"Hi," Kate said but Hanna didn't reply.

The ride to LePointe was quiet.  Sam kept looking at Jack whenever she got scared.  

On the way out of the car, Hanna stopped Sam.  "Can I talk to you?" she asked.

"Sure…" Samantha looked at Jack but Jack only shrugged.

They walked down a ways from the restaurant when Hanna suddenly stopped.  "Do you love my dad?"

"Yes," Sam answered truthfully.

Hanna bit at her lower lip.  "Are you the reason my parents are not together?"

"Not the real reason."

"Are you going to marry him?"

"I don't know…"

"Why do you like him?"

Sam smiled.  "He's a wonderful human being that follows his heart and not life's rule book."

Hanna looked at the sidewalk.  "Mom hates you."

"I don't blame her."

Hanna's head shot up to look at her.  

"Do you want to get dinner now?" Sam asked.

"Yeah…sure." They started back but Hanna had one more question, "Were you really shot?"

"Yeah."

"Cool."

Sam laughed.

The past…

The sins one has done that will be unearthed later.

The present…

Where one deals with the consequences of the sins.

The future…

Where dreams of a new life emerge.

The end.


End file.
